Month: January 2020

No longer is smart technology limited to a handful of industries; it will no doubt be tied to the future of the global economy.

The operative word these days is “smart”, as government and military facilities are among the numerous industries that see smart technology as the way forward.

Smart interactive displays and software are used for collaboration, training, command and control, and being used by everyone from first responders to various government and military departments. Smart technology is connecting people with vital information worldwide.

Smart cities will one day dot the landscape and probably sooner than we might think.

The Smart City concept integrates information and communication technology and various physical devices connect to the IoT network to optimize the efficiency of city operations and services and connect to citizens.

Data from citizens, devices, and assets would be processed and analyzed to monitor and manage traffic and transportation systems, power plants, utilities, water supply networks, waste management, crime detection, information systems, schools, libraries, hospitals, and other community services.

The goal of Smart Cities being to have the ability to better respond to challenges in real time. Although the concept has many positive benefits there is much that is still open to interpretation as details for implementation are fine tuned.

So it really should come as no surprise that smart safe technology is at the forefront of implementing ‘safe, secure’ procedures into the widely used cash management process.

If cities are enhanced with smart technology, certainly the companies that manage the flow of cash on a daily basis need the streamlined benefits of AMSEC’s CashWizard Smart Safe technology.

Considering there are over one million retail businesses in the U.S., smart cash management is critical for business operations and growth. Theft in the retail industry is a major issue that generates great losses. The National Retail Federation reported the average retail seller loses almost $2,000 for each instance of employee dishonesty.

The many advantages of smart safe technology can mitigate financial woes related to cash shrinkage and lower cash handling costs. Reason enough that smart safes are expanding into a wide range of industries and businesses, including government facilities, and colleges and universities.

Just a few of the many benefits of Cash/Wizard Smart Safe include:

• Centralized management connecting safes via cloud-based platform accessible from any internet capable device
• Simple, customer-managed, remote management of users and reports
• User-defined email alerts for exception-based management
• Push-based API for cash transactions integrating with POS systems and reconciliation software
• Access to real-time data tells you who’s doing what within any location
• More satisfied employees because Cash/Wizard Smart Safe is so easy to use

When you invest in smart safe technology, you’re adding accuracy, reliability, efficiency, and security to your business. While there are a number of technology options that will aid your cash management process, using smart safe technology is a best practice for securely storing your cash.

Contact AMSEC CashWizard Smart Safe today and let’s discuss your business needs. Whether you’re a franchise operation with many locations or a one man shop, set a course for a more efficient, safer, smarter business using smart safe technology.

Managing your business in the cloud means greater efficiency, speed, real-time communication, and secure transactions.

Nowadays more than ever businesses need to get what they need right when they need it, whether via computer, tablet, or mobile phone — in the office, out in the field, or on the road. That’s exactly the level of convenience that cloud computing provides. Fast and ever-changing, technology drives business forward and cloud computing is at the forefront.

For small and midsize businesses, the benefits of cloud computing are endless. Cloud computing saves businesses time and money by boosting productivity, improving collaboration and promoting innovation.

Businesses use cloud computing to access information anywhere with any compatible device. Rather than storing information on your computer or a server in your office, cloud computing stores data on the internet. It works by making information available from a central web-based hub that gives anyone with proper credentials access from any location with an internet connection. Cloud computing also syncs data for all devices connected to the cloud, keeping them updated with real-time information.

In the cloud environment, users can access all types of files, use applications as though they were in the office, and even collaborate remotely while working on the same project or presentation on their device as someone on the other side of the globe. Even if you’re away from work or your office server is inaccessible, data in the cloud is always up to date and available wherever, whenever.

Cloud computing services can range from data storage to functional programs, including accounting, customer service tools and remote desktop hosting. CashWizard Smart Safes operate with web-based software, a cloud based management system that provides visibility to critical business information including daily deposits, automated reports, and various exception-based alerts.

Cloud computing offers such an array of benefits, it’s easy to see why smart businesses get on board. With cloud technology you have many advantages such as these:

• Scalability – Cloud infrastructure scales on demand to support fluctuating workloads.
• Storage options – Users can choose public, private or hybrid storage offerings, depending on security needs and other considerations.
• Control choices – Organizations can determine their level of control with as-a-service options. These include software as a service (SaaS), platform as a service (PaaS) and infrastructure as a service (IaaS).
• Tool selection – Users can select from a menu of prebuilt tools and features to build a solution that fits their specific needs.
• Security– Virtual private cloud, encryption and API keys help keep data secure.
• Efficiency – Streamlining processes saves time and money
• Accessibility – Cloud-based applications and data are accessible from virtually any internet-connected device.
• Speed to market – Developing in the cloud enables users to get their applications to market quickly.
• Data security – Hardware failures do not result in data loss because of networked backups.
• Savings on equipment – Cloud computing uses remote resources, saving organizations the cost of servers and other equipment.
• Pay structure – A “utility” pay structure means users only pay for the resources they use.
• Streamlined work – Cloud service providers (CSPs) manage underlying infrastructure, enabling organizations to focus on application development and other priorities.
• Regular updates – Service providers regularly update offerings to give users the most up-to-date technology.
• Collaboration – Worldwide access means teams can collaborate from widespread locations.
• Competitive edge – Organizations can move more nimbly than competitors who must devote IT resources to managing infrastructure.

When you evaluate the potential savings in cloud technology, that alone is reason enough to opt in; but also think about what you’re getting with the soft benefits on a daily basis: improved productivity, more speed, and lowered risk.

CashWizard’s Smart Safe technology relies heavily on the mega-benefits of cloud technology because it provides the ideal environment our customers need to most efficiently perform and stay in the game. It’s a name to trust: AMSEC CashWizard Smart Safe.

The goal of any restaurant is to improve efficiencies, boost productivity, and ultimately increase profitability. When customers pay for their meals in cash, it often adds a few extra layers of complexity—and risk.

The traditional floor safe of yesteryear has now evolved into a high-tech smart safe that comes with several benefits to help owners, managers, and employees save time by reducing many manual cash management processes that are highly prone to theft and human error.

Here are just a few of the many benefits that restaurants across the country are realizing when they invest in a smart safe:

Tracking and Accountability 

Even the best cash management plans have one fatal flaw: they rely on manual processes that can lead to human error and internal theft. By implementing a smart safe into a cash management plan, it helps increase accountability —from the moment a cashier accepts a $20 bill to the second it’s safely deposited into a bank account.

Employees and managers have a unique ID that allows them to interact with the smart safe and perform their job duties. This creates a paper trail and an auditable record of the cash operations performed by every worker. If a situation does occur, it allows the owner or manager to quickly backtrack and verify who did what.

Secure Online Connectivity

Smart safes provide restaurants with the ability to securely connect online to their bank, a central dashboard at the company headquarters, and an armored courier. The secure cloud offers owners a multitude of remote management options, clear visibility to cash-on-hand, and even an app for smartphones and tablets.

This centralized management system is accessible from any internet-capable device and provides easy to use remote administration of reports and users. User-defined email alerts can be set up that adds another layer of security for exception-based management.

Smart safes, such as AMSEC Cash Wizard, also come with a robust push-based API for cash transactions that allow for seamless integration with various reconciliation software and POS systems.

Time-Saving Features

Smart safes help reduce the number of times employees and managers spend handling cash. On average, a single dollar is counted anywhere from five to six times before it reaches the bank vault. The safe will automatically count the money and reduce the manual labor aspect—which is highly prone to human error.

Managers will also spend much less time on money-counts, register closeouts, and reconciling and tracking cash management errors. When integrated with a POS system, a complete paper trail is created that ensures every single dollar is present and accounted for. Each cashier’s till balance will be automatically recorded at the end of the day, thereby freeing them up to perform other job duties.

Decreased Robbery Risk

Smart safes, such as the Cash Wizard from AMSEC, are built exceptionally tough. They include a dead-latch locking mechanism, anti-pry doors, and multi-door configuration with up to four single or bunch note bill readers. A spill-resistant keypad adds another layer of security in a hectic environment that serves up lots of liquid beverages.

When bills are deposited into the safe, it lessens the amount of cash in the till and reduces robbery exposure. Managers will no longer have to make a bank run, which can provide an easy target the second they set foot outside of the restaurant with a bag of cash in hand.

Multi-Location Visibility

Owners of multiple restaurant franchise can have remote multi-location visibility on all aspects of the safe and daily totals. Users can see the daily reconciliation numbers and are provided with complete access to such critical stats as business data, daily reports, and a robust analytics dashboard.

This allows owners to more efficiently manage their locations—instead of having to drive to each one, or spend time talking to their managers over the phone.

A smart safe also provides owners with real-time data. This allows them to respond with more speed and accuracy to managers, vendors, and employees. It helps improve overall operational efficiencies throughout the business. It can also allow users to see where the bottlenecks are occurring, where restaurant supervisors need to respond quicker, or where they need to assign a different employee to a particular job.

Real-time data also helps keep employees motivated as they have visibility on how they are performing and can compare that to management expectations. This enables them to quickly make corrections so that they can better improve their performance standards.

AMSEC Cash Wizard Smart Safes

Smart safes can help improve operational efficiencies, reduce theft and human error, and improve the overall cash management processes of your restaurant. If you’d like to learn more about the value and benefits that the AMSEC line of smart safes can bring to your restaurant, contact us on our website.

When old contracts expire, it’s time for something new and — smart.

Opportunities to make the new year more productive, more efficient, safer, and generally more rewarding are out there, and reviewing those expired contracts are a good first step to discovering them. It’s a smart time to evaluate your satisfaction level. Are you getting the most for your dollars spent? Is your business improved by your relationship with this vendor or with that vendor? Is their software easy to use?

If you’re in retail, banking, entertainment, travel, hospitality, or public service, you deal with the complexities of cash management and cash handling on a daily basis. The question is, are you confident that the system you’re using is covering all your bases? Are your employees at ease with the processes and know the ins and outs of the software?

These are the kinds of questions that, when answered, can give you the insight you need for better, smarter cash management decision making. For instance, do you have access to real-time data, 24/7? Are you comfortable with your current theft prevention? Can you easily train a new employee on the system you’re using and get them up and running on their own quickly?

If you’re coming up with too many “no” answers, it’s time to rethink your approach and consider those old contracts before you sign on again. AMSEC CashWizard Smart Safe technology will provide you with many more “yes” answers and much more.

For instance, let’s look at the advantages CashWizard Smart Safe technology adds to the hotel business. Think of the many ways and points of purchase in which hotels and resorts accept cash. In this industry, cash management must be effective and accurate. There are restaurants, bars, the front desk, gift / flower shops, and sometimes other areas where cash is transacted. CashWizard Smart Safe makes cash handling and management a consistent, reliable solution with virtually no errors and much happier employees.

Generally speaking, Cash Wizard Smart Safe technology provides many benefits to your cash handing, cash management process no matter what business you’re in. Managers and employees will enjoy advantages such as these:

• Increased asset security and employee safety
• More free time to attend to other tasks
• Streamlined business processes to increase efficiency and accuracy
• Decreased costs
• Elimination of errors
• Superior built equipment including dead-latch locking mechanisms and anti-pry doors
• Multi Door Configuration with the choice of up to four single or bunch note bill readers
• Bill readers that identify fraudulent notes
• Automated, real-time reports and alerts
• Spill–resistant keypad holding up to 500 users with easy onsite or remote user administration
• Web-based software management providing visibility to critical business information including daily deposits
• Programmable safe to push data to store’s point-of-sale system, ensuring all cash sales reported and deposits occur in a timely manner.

It’s a new year, full of many opportunities to make your business run more efficiently. What a smart decision to get on board with CashWizard Smart Safe technology. There’s no time like the present. Contact us today!

Excellent retail customer service is something that can turn a one-time shopper into a repeat buyer. What many businesses forget is that customer service starts from the moment they walk through the front door, to the moment they leave. It lets them know that the company values their business and will be there to help resolve any issues they might have.

No matter how good your services or products are, the one thing that people will remember is the experience they had when shopping at your business. This is why we’ve come up with five tips on how to provide better customer service so that you can turn a one-time customer into a repeat buyer.

Customer Service Skills 101

Make sure that your sales reps, cashiers, and managers have the requisite customer service skills needed to perform their job. There are four key points to great retail customer service:

Clear communication – Good communication skills are a valuable asset for a customer service job. Work to ensure that employees and managers are communicating clearly with the customer. Miscommunication can turn a small problem into a huge PR nightmare in just a few misunderstood words.

Knowledge – There is nothing more frustrating than walking into a store and having the salesclerk shrug their hands when you ask them a question about a product. Invest in training and other resources so that the sales reps know the difference between a widget and a doohickey—and the various reasons as to why the customer should buy one over the other.

Work Ethics – Customers appreciate it when a sales rep sticks with a problem and sees it through to a satisfactory conclusion. Ingrain this mentality into your reps and watch your customer satisfaction levels blossom.

Empathy and Patience – Some of your customers will be in a bad mood. Others will be in a rush. Still others will want to take as much time as they need to learn about the intricacies of your products. Your employees need to understand that there are people from all walks of life who will enter your store and that they should all be treated with empathy and patience.

Engagement

Train your sales reps to be engaged in their job. There’s nothing worse than walking into a store where every single employee has an attitude that makes it seem like they would rather be sitting in a dental chair getting a root canal performed.

Employee disengagement will sometimes stem from grievances or low morale. You can help avert this by setting up an anonymous suggestion box. Take note of their concerns and bring them up during the meeting and ask the workers for their input and suggestions on how they would like to resolve it.

Customer Feedback

Give your customers a way to provide feedback. Whether that’s a short survey on your company website, or a suggestion box strategically located near the front door, customer feedback can provide deep insights into the mindsets of your customers.

Perhaps there are several issues that you are unaware of. This could be causing a drop in foot traffic through your front door. By taking the time to understand the wants, needs, desires, and opinions of your customers, you’ll be better able to make an authentic connection that will resonate very well with them.

Resolve the Negatives Favorably

Excellent customer service extends to solving problems in a fair mannerism that makes the customer feel like you’ve heard, understood, and are working hard to resolve their concerns. This applies to social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter as well.

When a customer complains online, apologize, and then try to take the conversation offline—be it a phone call, email, or in-person. There’s no need to air your dirty laundry for others to see. Your customers will trust you more if they see how you fairly resolve other people’s problems.

Invest in a Smart Safe

Investing in an AMSEC CashWizard Smart Safe will help save both time and money. In addition to providing a highly secure area to store your cash until it’s time for an armored car pickup, a smart safe can help remove the mundane administrative cash handling tasks that take up a significant portion of the day. This means less time to worry lets you, your managers, and sales reps spend more time running the business.

Retail Customer Service is Important

It’s important to go the extra mile when it comes to customer service. That especially holds true in this day and age of social media and anonymous online reviews. Just one negative customer experience can have a cascading effect as the disgruntled customer takes to the internet to voice their concerns. By following the above five suggestions, you can help improve brand recognition, trust, and create a loyal following of happy customers.